Trading in Eon Capital Bhd (EONCap) seems to have picked up steam the past four trading days on the main market of Bursa Malaysia.

The market was rife with speculation that the China Construction Bank (CCB) was keen to acquire a stake in the bank and this was supported by a foreign news agency report which quoted sources with direct knowledge of the possible acquisition.

As of 11.25am, EONCap shares were 0.28 per cent or two sen higher at RM7.09 with 431,000 shares exchanging hands.

On Monday, 2.657 million shares were traded and last Friday, 1.5 million shares exchanged hands, with the counter remaining unchanged at RM7.07 on both days.

OSK Research, on a bilateral perspective, said the acquisition would benefit local banks in gaining smoother regulatory approval and support to expand into China, hence further strengthening financial and economic integration with China.

It said there was a possibility Bank Negara Malaysia may consider CCB as a potential suitor for a stake in EONCap if it were to consider China's fast expanding economic links with the Asean region.

CCB is the second largest bank in China and the second largest by market capitalisation in the world with total assets, loans and deposits amounting to RM5.1 trillion, RM2.6 trillion and RM4.2 trillion, respectively.

Meanwhile, the Hong Leong Bank offer for Eon Cap has been pending for more than a year with the High Court decision expected soon.

'With CCB's interest only at a very preliminary stage, we think it is highly unlikely that BNM or any of the relevant parties involved would want to jeopardise the deal.

'We continue to believe that the merger of EONCap and Hong Leong Bank will certainly place the merged entity on a stronger footing to compete in a more liberalised domestic banking environment,' it said. -- Bernama